and many of you are helping to lead efforts to heed, and to honor, the lessons of sandy hook elementary school? and the realization that unacceptable levels of gun violence plague our cities and towns every day. this unspeakable tragedy, and the individual tragedies that take place on your streets all too often and all too often unnoticed, stand as stark reminders of our shared responsibility to address not just the epidemic of gun-related crimes, and the ongoing need for vigorous enforcement of our laws but also the underlying conditions that give rise to gun violence. throughout our history, the overwhelming majority of american gun owners have been responsible, law-abiding citizens. yet we've repeatedly seen -- in the most tragic ways -- how easy it can be for dangerous people to acquire, and wreak havoc with, deadly weapons. although there's no single solution that can bring a decisive end to this senseless violence, it's incumbent upon each of us to try. and it's time to consider what common-sense steps we can take together -- to save lives. this means doing everything we can to se